Jason Webley’s life-affirming performance, 5 days removed from the Rapture

Last night I went to see Jason Webley at 51 3rd Street, the current (but soon to be former) location of the Troy Bike Rescue.

How does one describe Webley? He’s more of a performance artist than a musical act, which is meant in the best way possible and not to diminish his musicianships and unique songwriting but rather to accentuate the all-encompassing nature of his performances. Webley takes over every room that he’s in, but not in a way that’s domineering. Rather, he makes the space his own and then immediately invites everyone into his room. His appearance is that of a dapper boxcar hobo, with a stylishly ratty brown derby that threatens to leap off his head as he enthusiastically bounces with every nuanced growl and pressing of the keys. Folk songs from obscure Czech accordian players are mixed with covers of Nick Drake songs and original pieces about death and hockey hair.

If it all reads as ridiculous, it’s because it is. However, that’s what makes it wonderful, and it’s his presentation that makes it brilliant. On paper Webley’s theatrics could be construed as a put-on, but it’s an earnest performance. He encourages the crowd through participatory exercises, such as when he split the crowd in two with one side performing as violins and the others as trombones. His suggestion was for the audience to perform as if they were at war with the other side of this imagined orchestra, effortlessly weaving an engaging musical performance with improv exercises to create performance art.

Towards the end of his set, Webley made an announcement to the room concerning his future. After thirteen consecutive years of essentially non-stop touring – re-affirming my description of him as a dapper boxcar hobo – he’s decided to take a break towards the end of the year. It almost seemed unfair, as the area had gone nearly five years since his last performance in the area.

I saw him at the former Positively 4th Street about five years, ago though I’m not sure if that in particular was his most recent visit. The owner, a friend of mine, had described him as a combination of Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and something else. He had actually said someone in particular, though now the name escapes me. It is just as well, however, as Webley is – to coin a cliche – something else entirely: a unique creature, a 21st Century Vaudeville performer with an earnest smile and an unmatched charisma that engages every audience whether they be in a downtown bar, a street in Los Angeles, a theater in Mexico, or a crowded bike repair shop in a small city begging for distraction from the struggles of urban renewal.

Webley is one of those rare creatures that, pardoning all appearances of pretension, is in the truest sense a once in a lifetime – and life-affirming – experience. It is my hope that the “weird idea” he had that prompted him to take a break from touring doesn’t take too long, and that he’ll grace us with his presence once more.